The utilization of condoms (regardless of whether composed of natural latex, elastomeric polymer, natural animal intestine, or any other natural or manmade material) for contraception and for protection against sexually transmitted diseases has increased. Nevertheless, the frequency of use of condoms has been limited by certain properties intrinsic to their packaging and orientation during use.
For example, users report that condoms, particularly condoms packaged with silicone as a lubricant, often leave a residue on the hands after the condoms are touched. As another example, in many cases the condoms are applied in the wrong direction, since traditional packaging furnishes little or no instruction or other visible markings or evidence regarding the orientation for applying the condom.
A further problem, discussed in more detail below, is that when a condom is packaged in a manner such that it is pre-stretched, especially when it is pre-stretched to a substantial degree, the material of the condom may suffer fatigue stress over time, rendering the condom unusable or ineffective.
These and other properties of prior art condoms and condom applicators have dissuaded and/or prevented those men who have experienced difficulty in condom application from consistently using condoms.
Various devices have been suggested or made to enable men to correctly orient and apply condoms or to provide for more sterile application of condoms or both. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,214 to Wood, U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,193 to Vonier et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,120 to Persson et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,993,431 and 4,993,433 to Reddy, U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,887 to Potts et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,298 to Hurst, U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,850 to Broad, U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,286 to Stratton, U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,971 to Anatolievich, U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,949 to Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,972 to Gifford, U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,612 to Hochfeld, U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,374 to Wester and U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,196 to Kassman.
Conventionally, condoms are manufactured and shipped in a number of forms including fully rolled, partially unrolled and fully unrolled. When a condom is fully rolled, only its closed end (which may or may not include its reservoir tip) is not rolled. For both a fully rolled condom and a partially rolled condom, the inter-rolling of its wall forms a circular bead. The thickness of the bead varies from condom to condom, depending on the thickness of the material composing the condom, the compaction of the roll and the length of the portion of the condom that is rolled. The rolled condom, which normally forms a circle with its circumference, has an inner diameter measured across the flat unrolled portion of the condom and an outer diameter measured across the entire rolled form and including the width of the inter-rolled walls or bead.
None of the previously mentioned patents provide a means of both holding the condom initially during storage in an unstretched or nearly unstretched (moderately stretched) state and then during use allowing sufficient force to be exerted on the condom to expand its diameter to a size permitting it to fit easily over an erect penis. Two of the references cited, Kassman and Wood, each provide a respective means of shipping condoms wherein the condoms are already pre-stretched to one degree or another on a form. Both references disclose a container closed at one end and open at the other end at which a condom is to be applied. The construction of Kassman's device permits a partial vacuum to be created when a cylinder, having a wall containing bellows to which a condom has been pre-applied, is pulled open or opens of its own accord, thus expanding the condom. The condom, which would normally be applied to Kassman's applicator at the factory, is pre-stretched, in either its rolled or unrolled diameter, to an extent of at least 50% of its manufactured diameter.
Similarly, Wood provides for a bell-shaped body when, while not exerting any vacuum force, manages to expand the condom by virtue of transferring the force exerted on the outside of the body when pressing it open and thus deforming its side walls, the side walls carrying with them the attached condom. To achieve this, the attached condom in Wood is pre-stretched to an amount in excess of approximately 75% of its originally manufactured unstretched diameter.
Both the Kassman and Wood structures require a condom to be normally pre-stretched prior to its intended use for a time which may be, if the packaged condom is stored, for up to five years. This results in fatigue stress to the packaged condom, in addition to those stresses normally experienced by the condom upon exposure to air, other gases or normal wear and tear occurring to traditionally packaged conventional condoms. As noted above, these stresses may lead to condom failure.
Accordingly, there has been a long-felt need to provide a condom applicator that both effectively packages the condom for long-term storage without deterioration and enables easy and efficient application of the condom.